Tri-ing 2016

A new year and a new resolution. Sound familiar? Sound futile? Worry not, this is not your usual resolution as this was made during the xmas holidays. To be precise the thought process was initiated well before xmas (a full 4 days!), so it’s not really a New Year’s resolution. As some of you may remember, I ran my first half marathon last summer – which was by far the greatest endurance achievement of my life – but it did put me off running for many months. One sport, 12 weeks, no coach, no feedback, no good. I do still believe running could be a sport that I enjoy, but this time I do want someone to show me how it’s done properly. And I need something else in my weekly schedule to keep me interested. Consequently we come to my new sport of choice: the Triathlon.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not starting from scratch. I’ve been a member of Helsinki Triathlon since last summer and I’ve done a swimming course with them throughout last fall. So I’ve sort of already started. This course played a big part in where I am right now, which is a training group of 16 with a specific schedule for all three sports running from January to the end of May. The reason I chose to commit to a high intense group is the progress I’ve made in swimming last fall. The importance of technique and a thoroughly planned schedule make a huge difference in your personal development, but more importantly training becomes enjoyable. Besides, I need the group pressure, the training buddies and the pep talks. I’m very keen on staying within my comfort zone if left to train by myself.

The goal for our group is a competition in June. I’m looking at a sprint distance which is 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. Clearly a distance anyone can pull of, but I would like to finish it in a decent time. So what does my schedule look like for the next 4 weeks? Freakin’ insane!!